RestlessMonkey

Good! Since the 4th is coming up you don't want to end up in the ER! Your surgeon's office won't mind you calling and telling them what's up with you...better safe than sorry. :redface: You're learning a whole new way of eating; it's a process. Good luck!

I LOVE my band. I would duel to the death to keep it. I've never EVER had a moment's doubt about it. Loss was very slow for me at first because my doc is very conservative with fills but STILL worth every cent. I can eat any food I want. If I make good choices (like something Protein dense like chicken breast or steak) I stay FULL for a good 6 hours. Miraculous. Weight is coming off nicely now. I wouldn't trade my band for a million dollars. If you have specific fears, post and they can be addressed. The major change it has made in my life is this: I am in control now. not my cravings. ME. I think it is wonderful.

After your bad incident, did you go on liquids only for 24 hours or so? I've read that is often recommended (didn't get it from my doc though, just anecdotal here) Either way, if even water is hurting or causing pain then you may have, at least, irritated your esophagus. Call your doc and get some guidance; they may want you to come in, or just do liquids and then slowly progress back up to regular food again. Best if a pro makes the call! :redface:

Contact your surgeon about this!

Actually I've been camping in the Gila (Arizona) in the snow and that was groovy. Heartfire I'll go camping with you if you promise to smash any bugs that even THINK about looking at me, ok? (Benefit of camping in snow...no bugs)

EVERY person is different. You may "mourn" food, you may not. (I have NOT. I've been so glad to finally be free !!! and thanks to my great surgeon and the education he's given me, I can still eat anything I want. ANYTHING. so there's nothing to mourn) You may still feel fat as you lose, you may not. You may be frightened as you get smaller, you may feel empowered. IF you encounter emotions or issues that are bothersome, some therapy can help you. You may not. Our reasons for obesity, our personalities, body types, are all so different. Just trust yourself, get help if you need it, and get ready to get healthier!

Try reading the customer reviews. They are very useful.

I lost a pound a day on the preop diet my surgeon gave me. You may not lose 30 pounds but you'll lose a good deal. Just follow the guidelines. If your doc thinks you can do it, odds are he's had patients who have "done" it. AND if your doc gives you a diet, USE IT. Not something you liked from the past, or something someone says "worked for them". Just follow your doc's orders and you'll get through it!

They won't cancel your surgery because you lost some weight on the preop diet if you already qualified for the band. Don't worry!

I have a lap band and love it. Period. But they both work. Pick whichever one you want! If you don't know, pick the one your surgeon uses most.

Actually if it were me I'd go to another surgeon. Bypass is one thing but for the band follow up care is absolutely VITAL to the success of the band. Unless you want a couple of years of this mess I'd find someone else. Good luck!

Go back and see your surgeon,. You need some medical advice pronto. You probably need a fill but your surgeon should be the one to figure that out for you.

Don't have them on hand. Seriously...no one NEEDS sweets (not even those grandkids. I bet they'd rather have a healthy grandmaw than candy). If you don't have them you don't eat them. You probably need another fill, too. You might discuss this with your surgeon. 2 cc's doesn't mean good restriction for many people. Good luck!

My only caveat is this...for many people, unless you are of the lucky few who get restriction easily and quickly, unless you diet in the early days post op you won't lose. I didn't really start losing until May of this year and I got my band last August. HOWEVER!!! It took me that long to get decent restriction and many don't require that many fills, or will diet and "white knuckle" it until the restriction happens. Diet = crazy food obsessed Restless Monkey. Dieting got me to 405 pounds, so I don't do it. So aftercare is vital, it is a tool and you have to maintain it and work it, but if you do that the dividends are almost miraculous, IMHO. I go literally for 6 hours and don't think of food...that never happened to me before. I love it, but it's not for everyone. You'll figure out if it's right for you. Good luck!

Welcome and good luck!

It varies based on many factors. Your surgeon at the initial appt should be able to give you a general time frame. Honestly, it can run from 2 weeks to a year...so just hang in there and your surgeon will let you know! If you just can't stand to wait (I couldn't) call and ask the staff at your surgeon's office. They should be able to give you a rough idea. Good luck!

Go back to your banding doc and tell him what you just told us. He needs to help you. Good luck!

We are 100% sympatico on the camping thing! AND the bug thing.

Wasa my friend...you DO know that this is a lighthearted little non-scientific poll and not a social commentary? I have poor "cred" too. I'd rather not have to worry about money and weigh a healthy rate but that wasn't an option. Besides isn't having a BMI of say 26 considered fat? No one said I had to be 100 pounds overweight to get the "fat" part taken care of. LOL At my height I can get down to 155 and STILL be overweight so from my perspective, rich and fat ain't so bad. You come over, my thin pal, and I'll feed you healthy food that isn't onion rings! And neither of us will camp!

Most of us don't have just a "little cushioning" though.. and if he likes her heavy he should tell her that, instead of making it about her insecurities etc...in other words, making her wish to change seem to be a character flaw. That's not loving. That's controlling. Big diff.

LOL no and I nope I didn't sound prissy I'm actually more likely to be snotty than prissy any day! I understand, but the band is for life and you are very young and will have a long happy healthy one! So a little cake now and then won't hurt you. Note I said "A LITTLE!" BUT I do mean it when I say you have to work it the way it works for you. So good luck and you have a lucky friend, whatever you decide!

Ok it's totally a personal choice of course. We can all use the band as we see fit. I got it so I could be like everyone else...and skinny people eat a little cake every now and then! But we all have to do what is right for us.

Exactly! We're all in this together!

Not sugar free, but an old WW trick is to take a box of cake mix and a diet soda and cook. not really a cake eater (I prefer icing) but I can see if I can find the particulars if you want. They do things like...spice cake and diet creme soda, or orange cake and diet sprite.. no oil no eggs. ? Not sugar free though; I'm sure the mix has sugar in it. Are you still on your post op diet? If not, just have a small piece of the cake you make her, and if you are, you may not be able to have any cake right now...?

I think that what it does is really more for the user than the pouch...gets us back in focus and on task! :thumbup: